the one with the military doctor
by amadmaninabluebox
Summary: When Doctor John Tyler-Smith goes off to fight, how does his wife Rose handle his absence at home? Especially when he goes missing in action? AU (T for me cursing once?)


**Present day TenRose AU, if Ten/John Tyler-Smith went off to fight, and left Rose back in London (featuring every main character from New Who I could think of)**

 **I own nothing, and probably never will**

 **o~O~o**

"Do you really have to go?" Rose asked, her voice cracking at the end, and John held her tighter (which had seemed impossible, because he already seemed to be crushing her ribs).

"You know I do. They need a doctor, and I'd be doing my duty, Queen and country and all that."

Rose clutched him tighter still. "But what if…"

John stiffened as she struggled to finish her sentence.

"What if you don't… you…" Rose squeezed her eyes shut to try and fend off oncoming tears, and John tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

"Rose Tyler-Smi-my Rose, I am coming back to you. No one in Afghanist-no, no one in the _whole bloody world_ is gonna keep me from coming back to you, okay? And if they try," he trailed off, and Rose swallowed hard.

"If they try, nothing will be able to stop me. I'm coming home to you, love. I promise you."

Rose buried her head in his chest, and he rested his head on hers. He could feel her tears slowly soaking through his shirt, but he didn't care, and there was a small part of her hair that was wet from _him_ crying, so he figured they were even.

" _Flight to Kabul, Afghanistan, boarding from terminal ten, leaving in two minutes."_

John and Rose looked at each other with panic, and then they were frantically kissing, because every second they weren't with each other was already painful.

" _Flight to Kabul, Afghanistan, boarding from terminal ten, leaving in one minute."_

"I love you," they said simultaneously, and Rose hugged John tighter for one last second, before he reluctantly stepped back. He kept one of his hands in hers, though, with their fingers intertwined.

"I'll be seeing you lot, and take care of Rose," he called to their friends and family, and the girls tearily called out goodbyes while the boys waved sadly. Matt and Jack both tried yelling something out, but they couldn't find the words. Rose's dad had to hold little Tony's shoulder to keep him from running to his sister and her Doctor.

John looked at Rose. "I'll see you later," he said, and Rose squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

When she opened them, he was just turning away, but he was still close enough to hear her strangled reply.

"Not if I see you first."

o~O~o

Rose Tyler-Smith sat in her kitchen, sipping her long-cold tea. It was too quiet in the flat without John. Everything had been lonely, but nothing had been able to fill the gap his absence had left. Not friends, not telly, not her parents or her brother, and it was killing her but she didn't know how to stop missing him. She didn't think it could get worse.

Funny, though, because you know how when you think you've hit the bottom, and it may get better because _surely_ it can't get worse, and then the Universe decides _well, you really think that? Let's see exactly how wrong I can prove you to be, and also have a fucking horrible day._

Which is exactly what happened to Rose when the phone rang.

The phone had been in her hand, she was about to dial Amy or Martha or one of the girls, when its shrill tone had surprised her and she almost dropped it.

"Hello?"

" _Is this the residence of Rose Tyler-Smith?"_

"Mmm, yeah? Who's this?"

" _Mrs Tyler-Smith, we regret to inform you that your husband, John Tyler-Smith was declared missing in action as of the twenty-second of March, during a bombing on our camp near Bal-"_

 _CRASH THUD BANG_

And now the phone cord was snapped in two, and Rose's favourite mug was in pieces on the floor, and the chair was knocked over, and the rug was probably going to have a tea stain, but that was _nothing_ compared to what Rose felt.

 _Absolutely nothing._

 _Without John, what could she do?_

o~O~o

 _One Month Later_

Everyone was worried about Rose. She had stopped answering Martha and Mickey's calls, or looked at River's and Matt's texts. She ignored the house calls from Donna and Jack and Clara and the Ponds (even though they all came into her flat anyway and comforted and sat with her, it didn't help). She was lonely and scared and miserable, and all she wanted was John. The only comfort was her steadfast belief that he was alive (and her wonderful friends), but even that was dwindling.

"I can feel it, Jack, I can't explain it, but I have to believe it."

"But Rosie-"

"Please, Jack."

After all, without hope, there was only despair, and she couldn't let herself have that because her friends and family were already worried enough.

o~O~o

 _Three Months Later_

Rose wasn't any better, and everyone knew it no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

All her friends had never seen any two people so completely and utterly _in love_ (except for the Ponds, of course), and when Rose and John were in it, the whole room brightened.

Without John, Rose was… well, they couldn't find a word to describe her.

Donna said it was like Rose had her own personal dark cloud that she couldn't get rid of without John, and when she voiced this everyone had agreed it was a pretty accurate description (Rose had pretended she hadn't heard Donna say this, but she had accepted Clara's comforting hug afterwards all the same).

Matt said that if there was an alien planet of higher life forms with a more intelligent language, they would probably have words in said language to " _describe it_ _better than a personal dark cloud, Donna"_. But nobody had listened except River (just to humor him), because Matt also said that those higher life forms would probably have invented time travel and he was considering _naming_ this planet (he called it Gallifrey).

Then he had quieted quickly, and River had given him a hug, because John would have _loved_ a geeky conversation like this, and he probably would have came up with a name for the species, too (Donna had later said he would call them something stupid, like Space Lords).

Of course, no one mentioned this to Rose, as any mention of anything that reminded her of John drove her silence for a good hour.

She hadn't spoken much in a while.

o~O~o

 _Five Months Later_

Rose had cut herself off from the world, choosing to stay in her flat and grieve aggressively. She didn't talk to anyone, and no one saw her but her family and Martha, who dropped off groceries for her once a week.

Normally, something as silly as a closed door wouldn't have kept her friends out (they were all used to coming and going through each other's homes as they pleased), but Rose put in a bolt, and for some reason the only person who could undo it was her little brother Tony.

Lately, Tony was quite popular among Rose's friends (who normally adored him anyways), because they were all trying to bribe him to undo the bolt on her door for them.

Jack tried bribing Tony with thirty dollars worth of candies, but the little boy refused (and later stole half the sweets from right under Jack's nose).

Mickey and Rory gave Tony a huge box of video games, but he still refused to unbolt Rose's door (he managed to hide all the games when Mickey and Rory came back for them, too, being quite clever for a ten year old).

Amy tried to offer him money, but Clara and Matt both thought that was ridiculous, because _what does a boy need with money?_

Tony's response was always "Rose doesn't wanna see anyone, 'cause she doesn't wanna bug you and she wants to be 'lone anyways."

It broke her friend's hearts.

o~O~o

 _Eight Months Later_

Donna was sitting in her living room, watching _The Breakfast Club_ with Jack, Martha and Mickey when her cell rang.

Mickey looked up. "You think it's Lee?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows, and Donna blushed.

"Shut it, Mickey! None of your business who I do or don't call," she exclaimed, and Martha snorted.

"Come off it, you're worse than Clara and that Danny bloke she met," she said, and Donna rolled her eyes.

"They're not bad, they're in denial, that's all," Jack said, without taking his eyes off the movie.

"Shut it! I'm talking!" Donna ordered them, and they fell silent as she answered her phone.

"'Lo, Donna Noble speaking."

...

"John?"

Everyone in the room froze, and for a moment the only sounds were from the telly as the Breakfast Club ran through the televised hallways.

"John! JOHN BLOODY SMITH! You-you're-! Rose told us you were MIA! Oh my God!"

Jack's jaw was on the floor, and Martha and Mickey looked as though Donna had sprouted a second head as she continued to yell into the phone.

"Wait, Rose! Spaceman, she thinks you- she- JOHN SMITH, HAVE YOU CALLED YOUR _WIFE_? YOU CALL HERE, _HERE,_ AND- DAMMIT, I'M PUTTIN' YOU ON SPEAKER!"

She pressed the speaker button rather angrily, and suddenly they could all hear John's scratchy voice.

"Donna! I tried calling her a million times, her phone won't work and the house phone isn't working either, but yeah, I'm alive, I'll tell you all about it later, but let me explain before you yell at me more! The stewardess is getting annoyed with me."

Jack's slack-jawed expression was replaced with a humongous grin, and Mickey and Martha soon did the same. Before Donna could say anything else, they were yelling _JOHN!_ and _Oh my God, you're alive!_ and _Are you coming home?_ into the phone.

"Is that Jack? And Martha and Mickey? Donna! Where's-?" John asked, and Donna bit her lip.

"No, you know what, I'm on a flight right now, I'm gonna be in the London Heathrow in forty-five minutes! I need you to meet me at the airport, and bri-bring Rose," he said, his voice cracking when he finally said Rose's name.

Rather than let Donna yell at him more, Martha grabbed the phone. "Forty five minutes? Count on it, you'll be seeing us soon," she said, and they could practically _hear_ John's answering grin.

"Brilliant! I'd love to chat, but the stewardess is already a bit pissed at me, so I think I should hang up now, yeah? See you soon!"

With that, he hung up, and they were left staring at a silent phone, then they all sprang into action.

Jack grabbed his phone and Mickey's, and he called the Ponds from one and Clara from the other while Martha called Matt from Donna's phone and yelled at him to bring River and the Tylers to the airport. Mickey turned off the telly and Donna grabbed her shoes, and soon their small company was running down the street towards Rose's flat, joined shortly by the rest of their friends.

Now they only had to get her to come out…

o~O~o

Rose was seeing her parents and Tony off when she heard the thundering footsteps coming from down the hall, near the stairs. She had just turned back into her flat when she heard Tony's delighted yells from the hall.

"Uncle Jack! Auntie Donna! Auntie Clara! Uncle Matt! Uncle…"

Rose turned as Tony kept yelling her friend's names. Sure enough, there they were, all breathing heavily from dashing up six flights of stairs.

"Rose!" Amy yelled, and Rose knew she couldn't back out of this one. She had been avoiding everyone but her family and Martha for a few months now, and she didn't really have a great reason why. She just hadn't wanted company.

"Rose Tyler-Smith, don't you _dare_ lock us out again," Rory called, and Rose had the decency to look slightly ashamed.

"'Lo, guys," she said, as her friends approached her, and she was immediately swept up into a hug from Matt.

"Rose _, don't_ cut yourself off like that! We can't help you if you refuse to see us!" he exclaimed, and Rose hugged him back.

"'m sorry, 's just… I didn't want to bug yous, and I wanted to be alone for a while…" she mumbled, and Donna narrowed her eyes.

"Rose, you're never buggin' us! We're your bloody _friends,_ we want to help!" she exclaimed, and Mickey nodded vigorously.

"'Kay," Rose mumbled, and Matt let go of her.

"Rose," Clara said, suddenly business-like, "You need to come with us _now."_

Rose stiffened. This wouldn't be the first time they had tried to trick her into going out, only to end up at a grief counsellor. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"To the airport," Clara clarified, and Rose raised her eyebrows. _What's so important that would be at the airport?_

"And we have to be there in twenty minutes, so I suggest you hurry up," River added, and Rose opened her mouth to ask why, but River beat her to it.

"There's, um, someone there you'll probably want to see."

Rose racked her brain for anyone important to her who would be on a plane, but the only person she could come up with was _him._ And _he_ was MIA.

"River, just tell me who it is," she said, suddenly sounding tired, and her friends' hearts went out to her. "'Cause I don't really wanna go anywhere today."

River hesitated, and finally it was Jack who said it.

"Rosie, get off your ass and come on, it's John!"

o~O~o

John Tyler-Smith looked out the window of the plane, trying to ignore the woman beside him. From what he had heard as he tried to tune her out, her name was Jeanne Poisson, and she was going to London for business, and _is she trying to come on to me, I have a wife?_

His thoughts were interrupted by Jeanne tapping his shoulder.

"So, _John,_ why do you go to London now?" she asked, her French accent sounding stronger than earlier.

"I, um, I was in the military," he said, choosing to look at his knees instead of Jeanne's face. "I'm going home."

"Ah, _un militaire,"_ Jeanne said. "And tell me, who do you return home to?"

"My wife," John replied, smiling at the thought of Rose. "My wife and our friends.

Jeanne raised an eyebrow. "Your wife? I do not see a wedding band," she said, looking pointedly at his hands.

"Oh, right," he said, hastily pulling his ring out of his pocket and showing it to her. "It was in my pocket since I left the Kabul International."

Jeanne looked a little disappointed, then her face became a neutral mask once again. "Tell me about your wife."

John ran a hand through his hair, and as he thought more about Rose a dopey smile came onto his face. "She's brilliant. She's blonde, absolutely _gorgeous_ and she has amazing hazel eyes. She's a teacher and she has a degree in English Literature. She has a little brother named Tony, and we're thinking about getting a dog," he said, and Jeanne gave him a smile that looked slightly forced.

"That sounds lovely," she said, and John closed his eyes.

" _Attention passengers, we will be reaching the London Heathrow Airport in thirty minutes. We hope you are enjoying your flight."_

 _Yeah, it is lovely,_ John thought, closing his eyes and counting down the minutes until he could see his Rose again.

 _But not as lovely as seeing her._

o~O~o

Rose stared at Jack in shock and felt her knees start to wobble. He reached and grabbed her arms to steady her, and Rose swallowed heavily.

"It's John?" she asked softly, and everyone nodded.

"But… but… he was MIA… how…" Rose was having trouble speaking, so Rory stepped closer to explain.

"Rose, he called Donna, he'll be at the London Heathrow twenty minutes from now. He said your phones weren't working," he added pointedly, and Rose looked down. "Really, Rose, it's been eight months, you can at least fix your house phone."

Rose smiled faintly at this, remembering snapping the cord, and her friends grinned. This was the first smile they had seen on Rose in _months._

"But he'll be here soon, so let's go!" Amy exclaimed, and River grabbed Rose's hand, and suddenly she was being pulled down the hall, down the stairs, into a taxi.

For a good chunk of the ride, all she could think was _I'm so glad I showered today._

o~O~o

Rose stood anxiously with her friends in the London Heathrow, eyes fixed on a large sign that had all the flight times listed.

Mores specifically, one flight time.

The one that said _Kabul to London, 1:00._

It was 12:55.

Rose tapped her foot and bit her lip. _Would he really be here?_

River seemed to sense her friend's anxiety, and pulled her into a hug. "It'll be fine," she whispered to Rose soothingly, and Rose let out a deep breath. "He'll be here." River held her for a second longer, then let go to stand by Matt. Rose grabbed Mickey's wrist and checked the time on his watch.

12:58.

Suddenly, the room was filled with a _wooshing_ sound from outside, signaling a plane was landing. Rose looked up at the big sign, and saw that the slot with saying _Kabul to London, 1:00_ had disappeared.

He was here.

Rose turned to the terminal, almost bouncing with anticipation, and people started pouring out. A man wearing a leather jacket, a man wearing what appeared to be a _very_ large, multicoloured scarf, a woman wearing a business suit.

Finally, Rose saw him, and she almost stopped breathing, because he was finally _here._

o~O~o

When he stepped off the airplane, John's first thoughts were _get to Rose._ He vaguely registered the sound of Jeanne Poisson saying a goodbye to him, but he ignored her, eyes roving the room for the familiar blonde hair, warm whiskey coloured eyes, tongue touched smile that left him breathless and made him want to run a thousand marathons at the same time.

Oh, and their friends would probably be here, too.

John scanned the room once more, and then he caught a glimpse of a tweed jacket and a bow tie… _Matt._ And if Matt was here…

Yes, beside him was River, surrounding them was the rest of his friends, and then

 _Rose_

 _Rose Rose Rose Rose ROSE_

She saw him about a second after he saw her and they both stood stone still for a moment, each hardly daring to believe that the love of their life was now a mere fiftyish meters away from them instead of three thousand, five hundred and forty fiveish miles (John had kept that in mind during his whole stay in Afghanistan). They stared at each other for about four seconds more and then Rose tore away from Mickey's side and they were both running, no, _sprinting_ across the airport's floor, bumping into strangers and not caring in the slightest.

Finally, _finally,_ they were close enough and Rose leapt into his arms and he held her as tightly to him as he possibly could, lifting her off the floor and spinning her around in his utter joy that she was in his arms again. He could see that people were staring at them, some annoyed and others smiling, but he couldn't bring himself to care as he held her tighter and pulled back just far enough to look her in the eye.

"Hello," he said, and Rose gave a wobbly smile.

"Hello."

"Nice day, isn't it," he said, and she laughed as she raised a hand to cradle his cheek.

"You're really here?" she asked, and he answered her question by kissing her, one of his hands drifting into her golden hair while hers wrapped around his neck.

When he finally pulled back, breathing hard and noses still touching, he looked at her and then rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

They stood like that for a while, wrapped up in each other's embrace in the middle of the airport, until John broke their personal silence.

"Rose… the camp-I mean, some of the things there… I'm not-" he cut himself off and then tried again.

"I'm not the same man who left you in this airport eight months ago, and there's a reason I'm home now, and I just-"

"John?"

He sighed, frustration coming off him in waves. Then he looked at her, the intensity of his gaze keeping her eyes on his.

"Rose, I've done things, and I just-I...how long are you going to stay with me?"

He was not expecting her to laugh and shake her head at him in exasperation.

"Oh, you daft man," she said, leaning up to kiss him again and murmuring against his mouth.

"Forever."


End file.
